The Effect of Group Cognitive Behavioral Play Therapy Program on Self-Control among Late Childhood in Foster Care

Abstract

Objective: To develop and evaluate the effectiveness of group cognitive behavioral play therapy program on self-control in foster care for late childhood. Methods: The program was developed by researchers and validated by 3 experts, and consisted of one individual session and 14 group sessions. Twelve boys with age 8-10 years at Mahamek Home for Boys attended the 40-50 minutes group session twice a week for 7 consecutive weeks. The effectiveness of the program was evaluated pre and post-intervention by using Self-Control Skill in 5 Situational Test and externalizing domains in Thai Youth Checklist (TYC). Descriptive statistics, Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test, and qualitative analysis were used in data analysis. Results: The participants were 12 boys with age 8-10 years at Mahamek Home for Boys. They were studying primary education in public school and were fostered because of poverty, abandonment, and abuse. Comparison of changes between pre and post-intervention scores revealed increment in mean score of Self-Control Skill in 5 Situational Tests with p-value at 0.267, related to decrement in mean score of overall externalizing behavior problems in TYC with p-value at 0.086. Examined score in sub-domains of TYC found statistical decrease in aggression with p-value at 0.028 (p. <.05) as well as decrease in delinquency and impulsivity with p-value at 0.257 and 0.146, but found slightly increased immaturity domain with p-value at 0.892. Conclusion: The program was effective in reducing aggressive behavior and had a tendency to improve self-control skill among 8-10 years old children in a foster care. However, the effectiveness of the program in long-term needs to be further investigated.

Keywords

• Self-control
• group cognitive behavioral play therapy
• late-childhood
• foster child
• Siriraj Med J 2018;70: 507-513